The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of apple tree, botanically known as Malus domestica Borkh. of the Rosaceae family, and hereinafter referred to by the ‘CIVNIRED S’.
The new Malus variety ‘CIVNIRED S’ was discovered by the inventors, Michelangelo Leis, Silvia Salvi, Francesco Tagliani and Alessio Martinelli, in August of 1999 in a block of Malus domestica Borkh. apple trees designated ‘CIVNI’ (patented, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 14,177) growing in a cultivated area of an apple farm located in Laces (South Tyrol), Italy. The new Malus variety ‘CIVNIRED S’ originated as a sport mutation of a limb of one of the ‘CIVNI’ apple trees growing in the apple farm located in Laces (South Tyrol), Italy. The new Malus ‘CIVNIRED S’ was selected by the inventors based on the distinctive fruit characteristics of ‘CIVNIRED S’. In particular, the mature fruit of ‘CIVNIRED S’ has a more intense and greater extension of the bright red overcolor than ‘CIVNI’, while the outstanding eating quality (taste and crispness) and excellent shelf life of the mature fruit remains unchanged from ‘CIVNI’.
The new Malus ‘CIVNIRED S’ was first selected for propagation and further testing by the inventors in 1999 in a controlled environment in S. Giuseppe di Comacchio (Ferrara), Italy. Asexual reproduction of the new Malus ‘CIVNIRED S’ by grafting and budding onto M9 rootstock (unpatented) was first performed in March of 2001 in an apple farm located in S. Giuseppe di Comacchio (Ferrara), Italy, and it has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the new variety are firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction. The new variety reproduces true to type.